Maryland Legislature Sends 287(g) ICE Cooperation Ban to Gov. Wes Moore

Both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly have approved a bill that would end all 287(g) agreements in the state, effectively barring eight counties and local agencies from partnering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold inmates for federal pickup. The legislation now goes to Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, a first-term governor with national ambitions who has styled himself as a moderate and supporter of law enforcement but has sharply criticized ICE and the Trump–Vance administration after two Minnesota residents were killed in encounters with federal immigration agents. A Moore spokesperson said he is 'gravely concerned' about ICE’s actions, accused the administration of creating 'chaos' instead of focusing on violent offenders, and declared 'Maryland has no place for agents who are untrained, unqualified and unaccountable,' while adding he will review the bill as usual. The measure pits the state’s progressive base, which wants to cut local ties to ICE, against moderates and independents who may still back deporting noncitizens with serious criminal records, and analysts quoted warn Democrats risk political blowback if they are seen as embracing 'open borders' or secession‑style sanctuary policies. The decision will be watched nationally as a test of how a rising Democratic figure navigates the new anti‑ICE litmus tests emerging after the Minneapolis shootings and Trump’s aggressive interior‑enforcement surge.